Throughout
the Northern lands in the Viking age, people lived in longhouses (langhús), which were typically 5 to 7 meters wide (16 to 23 feet) and anywhere
from 15 to 75 meters long (50 to 250 feet), depending on the wealth
and social position of the owner. In much of the Norse region,
the longhouses were built around wooden frames on simple stone footings. Walls
were constructed of planks, of logs, or of wattle and daub.

In
Norse regions that had a limited supply of wood, such as in Iceland, longhouse
walls were built of turf. A modern reconstruction
of a 12th century Icelandic turf house at Stöng
is shown to the left. (More details about turf house construction and
architecture are in a separate article on turf houses.)

Inside,
the longhouse was divided into several rooms. Two rows of posts
ran down the length of the longhouse supporting the roof beams.
These columns divided each interior room into three long
aisles. The columns supported the roof, and, as a result, the
walls supported little weight. Typically, the walls bowed
out at the center of the longhouse, making it wider in the center
than the ends, mimicking the shape of a ship.

The central corridor of each room, between the row of roof support
columns, had a packed dirt floor (right). Ashes from the fires of the
house were spread on this area to act as an absorbent. In the Viking-age
house at Hofstaðir in north Iceland, slag and hammerscale have been
found in this floor layer, suggesting that ashes from the hearth in the smithy
were also brought in and spread on the floor in the house. Hofstaðir also had clear evidence of mice
living in and around the floor of the longhouse.

This central aisle was the passageway between sections of the
house. In addition, fires were built in this region, either in a fire pit
running lengthwise in the longhouse (left), or in individual fire circles in the
rooms. The fire provided light and heat and was also used for cooking.

Some houses, such as at Aðalstræti 14-16, had a large
and imposing hearth, with stones set on end in the earth, mirroring the
shape of the longhouse. The firepit at Vatnsfjörður (left) also follows
this form, reflecting the outline of the house.
The stone firepit is in the central foreground, and the outline of the
walls is made visible in the turf by rise created by the foundation
stones still buried just below the surface.

In contrast, the firepit at
Hofstaðir was surprisingly small, inadequate for the size of
the house. The evidence suggests that the house was not usually fully
occupied, and that the additional space was used for occasional guests
during feasts and celebrations. Some of the stone hearths have
compartments built into them, perhaps for keeping food and other items
warm, or perhaps for storing tools and other utensils used for the fire
or for cooking.

A feature found in the longhouse at Vatnsfjörður
is a stone-lined pit in the floor (right, and visible beyond the firepit
in the photo above left). The pit contained refuse and may have served
as the trash-can for the house. The pit also contained a small piece of
gold jewelry, suggesting that the piece was lost on the floor and
inadvertently ended up in the trash pit.

Smoke
holes in the roof (or, in rare cases, chimneys) provided ventilation and
illumination,
letting in light and letting out smoke.

On
either side of the central corridor (between the roof support
columns and the walls), raised wooden benches topped with wooden planks ran the length of
the longhouse. They provided a surface for sitting, eating, working,
and sleeping.

Typically,
no windows were used in the house. All light came from smoke holes overhead,
and open exterior doors. Some houses may have had small openings covered with
animal membranes, located where the roof meets the wall, to allow more
light to diffuse into the house.
Gunnar's house at Hlíðarendi is
described as having windows near the roof beams protected by shutters (Brennu-Njáls saga, ch.77).

Additional
light was provided by simple lamps, made from readily available
materials. The photo to the left shows a Norse era lamp made from a dished
stone, which was filled with fish liver oil for fuel, or, when available, seal
or whale oil. Fífa (cottongrass, or Eriophorum),
a common weed (right), was used as a wick.

A modern reproduction of a lamp using cod liver oil and
cottongrass provided much better light than anticipated. The light was steady and surprisingly bright,
with little smoke or odor. The light is sufficient for doing detailed
handwork, and even for reading.

Candles were not unknown, but were expensive and thus infrequently used. Candle
holders of various types have been found from this era, but typically in
churches. When candles are mentioned in the sagas, it is typically a priest who
holds them.

Windows had other uses, as well. One night, Grettir fought off
twelve Vikings outside the house where he was staying as a guest, as is
told in chapter 19 of Grettis saga. The farmer's wife had lights put in the
windows so Grettir could find his way back to the farmhouse in the dark.

With their limited ventilation, one might think that these houses
would have been smoky, dim, and murky, as is usually depicted in modern illustrations
of longhouses. But, I've been amazed by how bright the interiors were of the
longhouse reconstructions I've visited. The longhouse photos on this page were
shot using only the natural light filtering in
from the smoke holes and doors.

When I visited the
Stöng farmhouse for the first time, I was just as amazed at
how dim and dismal the interior was. Only during a later visit to
Stöng did I discover the reason for the difference: the smokeholes at
Stöng were closed when I first visited. When the smokeholes were
opened,
Stöng was just as bright as any of the other longhouses.

However, the saga literature suggests
a dim interior. For example, in
chapter 28 of Grettis saga, Auðun, entering the dim longhouse from
outdoors, was unable to see Grettir, who intentionally tripped him. That episode is
quite believable in a house as dim as Stöng was on my first visit.

Since
no longhouses from the period survive, it's unclear what
their ventilation scheme might have been. The longhouse re-creation
at L'Anse aux Meadows apparently had the smoke holes placed incorrectly in
the roof of the longhouse. (The smoke holes have subsequently been moved, since
when I visited.) Said one of the re-enactors, "Some days you can't see
from one end of the house to the other through the smoke."

I experienced that condition during a visit to Eiríksstaðir.
A poorly lit fire filled the house with smoke (left), despite the open
smokehole overhead (right). In the Viking age, drafts were avoided in
the house by using antechambers and double doors that formed airlocks.
Drafts not only could chill the house, but also could spoil the
normal draft of the fire, filling the house with smoke.

Typically, the longhouse reconstructions were surprisingly cozy and pleasant. The wooden bench
topped with a sheepskin made a comfortable seat for lounging.
The fire kept things warm, dry, and toasty, and was conveniently
near at hand from the bench. At L'Anse aux Meadows, sunlight pouring in through the smoke holes
brightened up the interior in a cheery way. One easily can imagine
people comfortably sitting, cooking, eating, drinking, and working
on chores in the longhouse.

It
is unlikely that the longhouses had much furniture.
Only the master and mistress of the house would have had a box-bed
in which to sleep, usually located in an enclosed bed-closet. The remainder of
the household slept on the benches.

Most re-enactments show people sleeping lying down on the
benches between layers of sheepskin. However, surviving beds and
reconstructed bed-closets and benches are extremely confining,
suggesting that Viking-age people may have slept sitting up on the
benches, with their backs against the wall.

Laxdæla saga (chapter 7) says that in her old
age, Unnr in djúpúðga
(the deep-minded) died in her sleep. She was found by her grandson
the next morning sitting up among the cushions.

Beds were
probably lined with straw. An interpretation of an open bed at Eiríksstaðir is
shown to the left. It's lined with straw and covered with an animal skin.
Weapons hang from the wall behind the bed.

An interpretation of the bed in the bedcloset at Stöng is shown to the right.
The bed cover is
sheepskin. It's possible that some people used wool blankets as bed covers, or
even wool blankets stuffed with down. In chapter 27 of Gísla saga Súrssonar,
Gísli hid from his
pursuers between the straw and covers of the bed of Refur and Álfdís. Álfdís
got into bed on top of Gísli. When Gísli's pursuers entered the house to make a
search, Álfdís showered them with abuse, which kept them from examining her bed
very closely.

Droplaugarsona saga (chapter 9) says that Þorgrímr and Rannveig slept
under a wool bed cover. One morning before breakfast, Rannveig declared
herself separated from her husband Þorgrímr. Before she left, she threw
all of his clothes into the sewage pit. Þorgrímr wrapped himself in the
woolen bedcover and went to the neighboring farm for help.

Very wealthy people may have had much finer bedding. In chapter 51
of Eyrbyggja saga, Þórgunna's bedding included fine English sheets, a
silken quilt, and pillows.

Some
of the stories refer to sleeping quarters in the loft of the longhouse.
(For instance, in chapter 77 of Brennu-Njáls saga, it is said
that Gunnar slept in a loft above the hall, together with his
wife and his mother.) However, the upper levels of a longhouse, besides being
dark and cold, must also have been foul with smoke from the open fires, making it unlikely that anyone
would want to sleep there. At Eiríksstaðir, a ladder (left) leads up to the very dark
and smoky sleep loft (right).

Foodstuffs were probably stored and prepared in a pantry (matbúr), then
brought out to the fire in the main room for cooking. An outside storage room (útibúr)
stored food, as well as other valuables.

Stories
refer to tables being set up for meals, then taken down for other
activities. It's not clear what form those tables might have taken, but they
were probably trestle tables. It's possible that trestles, boards and
additional benches were stored overhead, lying on the cross beams, and
brought down for meals and feasts.

The other
likely pieces of furniture in a longhouse were wooden chests for storage and a
vertical loom for weaving cloth. The loom and one of the tables at Stöng is
shown to the right.

It's been suggested that the space under the bench was
used for storage of spinning and weaving materials, along with finished
goods. The cross bench at Stöng is shown to the left, with one of the
seating planks lifted to reveal the storage space.

It's unlikely that chairs as elaborate as the
reconstruction shown to the left were ever common. The original is from
12th century Norway. The sagas occasionally mention chairs.
Chapter 23 of Fóstbræðra saga says that Gríma had a chair carved with a
likeness of Þórr and his hammer.

Simple three-legged stools, such as
the reproduction shown in the top photo to the right, were probably much more common. People
also used their wooden storage chests (lower
photo, right) as seats.

A modern reproduction of a chest is shown to the left. The
chest incorporates an internal locking mechanism. The teeth on the key
(right)
rotate into holes on an internal locking bar, releasing a spring latch and
allowing the key to slide the locking bar to the open position, freeing
the hasps from the inside and unlocking
the chest..

Houses of wealthy families probably had decorative wall hangings, or
carvings, or possibly paintings. The sagas tell of elaborately decorated shields
hung on the walls (Egils saga, ch. 78) and tapestries hung to decorate
the hall for feasts (Gísla saga Súrssonar, ch. 12). A modern replica
tapestry is
shown to the right.

In chapter 29 of Laxdæla saga, it is said that in Ólaf's
hall at Hjarðarholt, the wainscoting was decorated with scenes from the Norse
myths.

Despite
the cozy picture I've painted above, the longhouse was scarcely the place for
privacy. The entire extended family did everything here: eating, cooking,
dressing, sleeping, work, and play, both day and night. Everyone must surely
have known what everyone else was doing. Privacy did not exist; modesty must
have been unknown.

In
chapter 75 of Grettis saga, there is an episode that illustrates
the lack of privacy. Late in the day, Grettir swam from his island hide-away to
Reykir, Þorvald's farm on the mainland (shown to the right as it looks
today). It was after dark, and the people of the
farm were asleep. Grettir bathed in the hot pool, then went into the house and
fell asleep. In the night, his bed clothes fell off of him.

The first to arise
the next morning were Þorvald's daughter and a servant-woman. They saw Grettir lying
naked, asleep. The servant said, "Grettir the Strong is lying here, naked.
He's big-framed, all right, but I'm astonished at how poorly endowed he is
between his legs. It's not in proportion." The two of them took turns
peeking at Grettir and laughing at what they saw. Grettir awoke and returned their
insults with some bawdy poetry.

It is possible that some houses were protected by fortifications (virki)
built around the house. Fortifications are frequently mentioned in the
contemporary sagas, set in the turbulent Sturlunga Age at the end of the 12th
century through the beginning
of the 13th.

Fortifications are less commonly mentioned in the
family sagas, set in Viking-age Iceland. In Eyrbyggja saga, it is said
that Óspakur had a fortified farm at Eyrr (shown to the left as it appears
today).

Óspakur, his men, and a
Viking named Hrafn, stole, plundered, and killed all throughout the
region. In chapter 62, Snorri goði and his men attacked Eyrr. Óspak's
men threw stones from atop the fortification to hold off the attack.
From the outside of the fortification,
Þrándur took a running leap and hooked his axe over the top of the
wall. He climbed hand over hand up the shaft and entered the
fortification, where he cut off Hrafn's arm.

A recently-excavated Viking-age site (right) shows evidence of a very broad wall at the
periphery of the site. The stones forming the foundation of the wall are
2m apart (7 ft) and were filled with turf between them. This breadth
suggests that the wall was also very tall, much taller than what is
needed for keeping out animals. Perhaps this wall was the fortification
for the house.

Archaeological and literary evidence suggest that some houses
may have had other unusual features.

In
the summer of 2002, an interim report was released by archaeologists working at
Reykholt (left), one of the farms belonging to Snorri Sturluson in the 13th
century. Stone structures were found underneath the longhouse which have been
tentatively interpreted as an underground heating system fed with hot water from
a nearby hot spring, a development that certainly would have made life in the
house much more pleasant in winter.

Króka-Refs saga (ch.12) says that Ref's home in Greenland
used underground wooden pipes to supply water from a nearby lake to the house and fortification
in order
to foil his enemies' attempts to burn down the house. No physical evidence of
such structures has been found, and the limitations of the
digging tools available during
the Viking age would seem to make such underground engineering efforts nearly
impossible except in the most favorable possible circumstances.

Archaeological evidence and saga evidence suggests that most house sites
also had a number of smaller outbuildings used for a variety of
purposes, including food and fodder storage, iron working, textile
working, and other purposes.